Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter (December 15, 1891 – November 7, 1960) was an American musician and founding member of

The Carter Family Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. ...

, one of the most notable acts in the history of

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

Biography

Life

A.P. Carter was born to Robert C. Carter and Mollie Arvelle Bays in

Maces Spring, Virginia Maces Spring is a small unincorporated community in Scott County, Virginia, United States, along State Route 614, in an area known as Poor Valley. The settlement consists of a small number of houses. There are no longer any stores in Maces Spring; ...

, an area in what is now

Hiltons, Virginia Hiltons is an unincorporated community in Scott County, Virginia, United States. It is part of the Kingsport– Bristol (TN)– Bristol (VA) Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bri ...

, which is located in

Poor Valley Poor Valley is a valley in Grainger County, Tennessee, Hawkins County, Tennessee, Hancock County, Tennessee, Scott County, Virginia, Washington County, Virginia, and Smyth County, Virginia, United States. A variant name is Big Poor Valley. Poor ...

. A.P. was sometimes called "Doc." On June 18, 1915, he married Sara Dougherty and they had three children: Gladys (Millard), Janette (Jett), and Joe. In 1927, he formed the

Carter Family Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. ...

band together with his wife. They were joined by Sara's cousin, Maybelle, who was married to A.P.'s brother,

Ezra Carter Ezra J. Carter (also known as Eck Carter; October 21, 1898 – January 22, 1975) was a member of the Carter Family of Virginia. Ezra Carter managed the famous Carter Family, a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 195 ...

(father of

June Carter Cash June Carter Cash (born Valerie June Carter; June 23, 1929 – May 15, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. A five-time Grammy award-winner, she was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash. Prio ...

), and together they formed the first commercial rural country music group. Since A.P.'s employment was as a traveling salesman, Carter was known for traveling extensively throughout Central Appalachia. His home in Poor Valley, in deep southwestern Virginia, is centrally located among eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, eastern Kentucky, and southeastern West Virginia. (The distance from Maces Spring to the state lines of each of those four other states is less than 25 miles). Carter was often accompanied by his friend

Lesley Riddle Lesley "Esley" Riddle (June 13, 1905 – July 13, 1979) was an African American musician whose influence on the Carter Family helped to shape country music. Riddle was born in Burnsville, North Carolina, United States. He grew up with his pater ...

, collecting and blending songs, particularly from Appalachian musicians, and from attending church services in many isolated localities, the source of the Carter Family's many religious songs. Some of the songs became so closely identified with A.P. Carter that he has been popularly, but mistakenly, credited with writing them. For example, " Keep on the Sunny Side of Life" was published in 1901 with the words being credited to Ada Blenkhorn and the music credited to Howard Entwisle, and "The Meeting in the Air" has been published with credit given for music and words to I.G. Martin. In a case of perfect timing,

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

was very interested in 1927 in widening the scope of its recordings and records so as to sell more of their record players, called "

Victrola The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

s". Victor Records sent a "mobile" recording team around the country, seeking popular music. One of their stops was in

Bristol, Tennessee Bristol is a city in the State of Tennessee. Located in Sullivan County, its population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. T ...

, just a few miles from Maces Spring, and the Carter Family went there to record some songs, which soon became popular country-wide. A.P. and Sara separated in 1932, in part as a result of Sara's having an affair with A.P.'s cousin—A.P. was away from home for long periods in his job as a traveling salesman—and his search for new musical ideas. They divorced in 1939. The band remained together for several years afterwards, but broke up in 1943. While Maybelle and her daughters continued to tour as the Carter Family, A.P. left the music business to run a general store in Hiltons, Virginia. left, A. P. Carter Store, which A.P. ran after retiring from the music business Beginning in 1952, A.P. reunited with Sara, along with their children Janette and Joe, to record for the Kentucky based Acme Records. The majority of these recordings were made in the same building in Bristol where the original family first recorded in 1927. The new Carter Family was featured on stations such as WCKY, WWVA, KXEL, and many more. The family also appeared on a national CBS program. These records would prove to be A.P. Carter’s final recordings, with records with the new lineup being made well into 1956. A.P. Carter died in Kingsport, Tennessee, on November 7, 1960, at the age of 68. He was buried in the Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church cemetery in the Maces Springs area of Hiltons, Virginia.

Legacy

Despite dying in relative obscurity, A.P. Carter was inducted into the

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1970 by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. A non-profit organization, its objective is to honor and preserve the songwriting legacy that is ...

in 1970. Carter was inducted as part of the

in the

Country Music Hall of Fame The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amas ...

in 1970. In 1993, his image appeared on a

U.S. postage stamp Postal service in the United States began with the delivery of stampless letters whose cost was borne by the receiving person, later encompassed pre-paid letters carried by private mail carriers and provisional post offices, and culminated in a ...

honoring the Carter Family. In 2001 he was inducted posthumously into the

International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor Induction to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, called the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor from its creation in 1991 through 2006, is managed by the International Bluegrass Music Association, and the Hall itself is mainta ...

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

aired a one-hour show on A.P. Carter and the Carter Family in 2005 on ''

American Experience ''American Experience'' is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American his ...

'' titled "Will The Circle Be Unbroken". In recent years, The

Barter Theatre Barter Theatre, in Abingdon, Virginia, opened on June 10, 1933. It is the longest-running professional Equity theatre in the United States. History Concept In 1933, when the United States was in the middle of the Great Depression, many peo ...

Abingdon, Virginia Abingdon is a town in Washington County, Virginia, United States, southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,376 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Washington County. The town encompasses several historically significant sites and f ...

, has performed a play based on A.P.'s life called ''Keep on the Sunny Side''. On her 2008 album ''

All I Intended to Be ''All I Intended to Be'' is the 25th studio album from Emmylou Harris and her third release on Nonesuch Records. It was released in the United States on June 10, 2008. The album debuted at number 22 on the Billboard 200, and number four on Top Co ...

'', Emmylou Harris includes the song "How She Could Sing the Wildwood Flower", co-written with

Kate and Anna McGarrigle Kate McGarrigle (February 6, 1946 – January 18, 2010) and Anna McGarrigle (born December 4, 1944) were a duo of Canadian singer-songwriters (and sisters) from Quebec, who performed until Kate McGarrigle's death on January 18, 2010. Music ...

about the relationship between A.P. and Sara, inspired by a documentary that the three of them saw on television. The song " When I'm Gone," written by A.P. Carter and performed by the Carter Family in 1931, had been revived in 2009 when Lulu and the Lampshades created a reworked version, using the

cup game A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

as percussion, titled " Cups (When I'm Gone)," which in turn was famously covered by Anna Kendrick for her 2012 film "

Pitch Perfect ''Pitch Perfect'' is a 2012 American musical comedy film directed by Jason Moore and written by Kay Cannon. It features an ensemble cast, including Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Skylar Astin, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Hana Mae Lee, Alexis ...

." The A. P. and Sara Carter House, A. P. Carter Homeplace,

A. P. Carter Store A. P. Carter Store is a historic general store museum located at Maces Spring, Scott County, Virginia. It was built in 1945, and is a one-story, frame building with a cross-gable roof. The store is most notable for its association with the Carte ...

, Maybelle and Ezra Carter House, and Mt. Vernon Methodist Church are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

as components of the Carter Family Thematic Resource. In keeping with A.P.'s dying wishes, his daughter

Janette Carter Janette Carter (July 2, 1923 – January 22, 2006), daughter of musicians A.P. and Sara Carter, was an American musician involved in the preservation of Appalachian music. Carter was born on July 2, 1923, in Maces Spring, Virginia. She and her ...

restarted regular performances at A.P. Carter's general store venue, and the organization became known as the

Carter Family Fold The Carter Family Fold is a musical performance and concert venue located near Hiltons, Virginia. It is dedicated to the preservation and performance of old time country and bluegrass music. It is named in honor of the original Carter Family, ...

, which continues to offer regular Appalachian music performances.

Family tree

References

External links